Meet the 2016 Mercedes SLC

Revamped Benz roadster gets new name ahead of Detroit auto show debut

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The Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster will return in 2016 as the new SLC roadster, sporting the new corporate face of the brand and a few fresh engine choices. The SLK55 is dead; long live the SLC43!

The Mercedes SLC will come in two variants, set for a public unveiling at the upcoming 2016 Detroit auto show: SLC300 and SLC43 AMG. Actually, it’ll be the Mercedes-AMG SLC43, following the company’s new name structure, but we digress.

The SLC300 gets a 2.0-liter inline-four making a healthy 241 hp at 5,500 rpm and 273 lb-ft of torque. It’ll get to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 130 mph. Instead of the monstrous 5.5-liter in the SLK55, the AMG SLC43 will use a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that delivers 362 hp and 384 lb-ft of twist starting at 2,000 rpm. Both will send power rearward through the company’s nine-speed automatic transmission. The AMG sprints to 60 in just 4.6 seconds and has a top speed of 155. We wouldn’t be surprised if an S version came out soon, with a higher top speed like many of the other AMG vehicles.

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Mercedes will include its Drive Select system, which toggles between comfort, sport, sport-plus, eco and individual modes. The system adjusts the throttle, steering, suspension (on cars with adaptive damping) and exhaust note (on cars equipped with the sports exhaust). Active Brake Assist is new to the SLC. The system can autonomously brake if a warning light and audible alert are ignored and a crash is imminent.

Base SLC models will get Mercedes’ sport suspension, while buyers can upgrade to the adjustable AMG Ride Control setup. Both suspensions get new front and rear architecture. The three-link front has stiffer steering knuckles than the outgoing car, improved elastokinematics -- basically just the operation and tuning of the suspension -- and increased negative camber. Mercedes says all this work makes SLC “significantly more agile in cornering, gives more precise and direct feedback and faster cornering speeds.” A four-link rear makes the SLC more controllable at the limit, Mercedes says. A mechanical limited-slip differential is optional, sending power to the wheel that needs it most under hard acceleration.

Elsewhere inside, the SLC features new aluminum trim parts with a carbon finish, a 4.5-inch screen in between the gauges, a 7-inch central screen -- up from 5.8 inches -- a flat-bottom steering wheel and optional ambient lighting.

U.S. sales of the SLK/SLC have ranged between 3,000 and 5,000 units per year for the past five years, far from its peak of more than 11,000 in 2005. With a new face, a new set of engines and those all-important new “elastokinematics,” Mercedes hopes the roadster will return to its former glory.

The 2016 SLC goes on sale this spring, but we'll have more photos at the car's reveal during the Detroit auto show; pricing will be announced closer to launch.